Dear Mr. Tooze,
(an open letter to all men and elders of the embassy in Oregon City, 8/22/15)
[motivated by the Roman Catholics offering prayer in your presence yesterday, asking God the Son, as one-celled zygote, to “Inspire Christians everywhere to seek out and apply Christian solutions to social problems.” You who understand theonomy, have those solutions. Let us sharpen each other, as to how to apply them: not for our justification, but for the glory of the Triune God, and our obedience to God’s Word. Amazed at hearing Pastor Tuuri, in his 8/23/15 sermon call for the very kind of discussion, admonition, appeal and man-sharpening-man communication that I have been trying to employ for years. See links at end of this document for ideas to promote questions that need to be answered, or to help me get corrected on all my errors.)]
Enjoyed our short interchange yesterday. Very impressed so many of RCC’ers came out to this. Long for the day when there is more leisure for sitting down and having long, profitable encouraging-each-other’s faith theological discussions. Alas, we are in War, and even if the effect of our conversations might endure, I’m thinking what we write might last longer. After all, we are still reading Pilgrim’s Progress – written from when John Bunyan was “wasting his time” in prison. And think of the enduring impact because someone wrote down Spurgeon’s sermons!
I never got around to expressing my gratitude for the way things have turned out these last 7 years. Your compassion and concern would well be directed to my wife and children, as this has been hurtful to them in the short-run, but I have hope that, in the long resolution, they will also be compensated and grateful for these seasons.
Maybe you have noticed down through the years that Pastor Tuuri has frequently commented how profitable it would be if, somehow, RCC could – institutionally – server Her Sister Churches in encouraging them to join in the victorious, joyful passion of proclaiming the crown rights of the Savior King who has already ascended to His throne. It is patently obvious that I would be the least likely candidate to have this privilege to be such a tool to help promote that goal. Time will tell whether I have hindered or helped that cause.
I wish I could share the details of how I have been given -- because of RCC, the character of my wife and children, and the priceless opportunity of sharing these lives by living and working at home in the growing-up/home-discipleship years – the opportunity of integrating the excellent Reformed Doctrines of Grace, theonomy, and Postmillennialism with an extraordinary exposure to the history of our own country, with the expanding window on history and contemporary affairs provided by the “Interwebs”. I don’t have to tell you about the richness of the foundation we have been privileged to build on with the heritage of our Reformation Party studies at RCC, in our association with the CREC, the leadership of Christ’s Church in Moscow with Pastor Wilson, the scholarship of their other pastors offered to us in their History (and other-) conferences, the interchanges in our Family Camps, and the plethora of written & audio works from Rushdoony, Bahnsen, Jordan, North, Wilkins, Grant, RC Jr. (and Dad Sproul), and our gifted ‘foreign’ brethren: Rusinov, Jarmelak, and Marinov. (We could add name upon name).
To these I have to add, the extraordinary grace it has been to me to have Bethany’s heart engaged with the Ukrainian churches. It is hard to imagine a piece of real-estate in the world, more soaked with blood-guiltiness than that fertile soil. Having Bethany alongside sparks interest in the history and current events of that part of the world, which has leveraged more enlightening study into the theology of world politics, especially WW II, communism, and (of course) money and banking that has funded all the wars.
In the providence and timing of an all-wise God, I was told by a Ukrainian, the same day you and I met at the protest, how it was the protestant Christians of Russia who initially were deceived by and supported Lenin on his rise to power. We know how he turned against and brutally persecuted them later, as well as claimed the land, labor, lives, and goods of the Ukrainian region later causing the “peace”-time death of millions in the Holodomor. When we got into the theology that needed to be changed in order to prevent, or recover from such calamities, he assured me that Satan still holds his usurped power over the world during this age, and that the Apostle Paul assures us that Believers are not responsible to “judge those who are outside”. Talk about flapping, red cape to a bull! But that is where we had to break off for family considerations, and honoring the limitations of our bodies and the schedule of the day (kind of like you and I did). Pray that, even if Vlad and I cannot cordially get together again for more stimulation of each-other’s faith, any contemporary Christians who do see the application of Christ’s crown rights to the current social issues will be empowered to obey those rights, having then a platform to “speak only such a word as is good for the edification of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear” – and thus, hopefully, be persuasive to the Body of Christ, in this and every nation, to embrace God’s truth where the battle and contradiction is the hottest. This is not the devil’s world anymore. Nor are we in exile. Even if this “world is not my Home”, it is certainly is His Ground, and the place of our imperial ambassadorship, to encourage the Locals to “kiss the Son” lest His anger be suddenly kindled and poured out, as has been manifest so many times in history. As in Old Jerusalem, if these tenants American (or Russian, or Ukrainian) tenants refuse to pay the rent of honor, thanks, tithe, and Sabbath – in they refuse to punish crime but insist on murdering the innocent and protecting others who do -- He will sweep them away and replace them with new tenants who will. May our own hearts, with those of our children, be those new tenants.
The irony is how much I have profited from the experience of being granted an open door to discuss the applications and temporal salvation offered through Messiah as judge, lawgiver, and king and His gracious law of liberty – in a hostile environment. By that I mean, among men in churches who do not believe Biblical law is applicable or publishable in our generation, but that men will only be held accountable to it in the soon-return of Jesus to the earth to reign – out from His single resurrected body, out from one physical city just off the Mediterranean. I can assure you, the folks out here who are skeptical of theonomy and postmil are, nevertheless, intrigued by the applications of it to the issues of the day, about which they have endless questions and puzzlements about why things just keep getting worse. Their hearts tell them there has to be better answers. After all, the Untied States used to be better at justice and righteousness than they are today. If there was a high-water mark for justice, freedom, and prosperity – surely there must be a way to bring a civilization back to that point or higher – instead of steadily losing ground on all 3 counts, as we have seen in our lifetime.
Though they are hostile to the theology, many remain open to talking about it. I would rather be talking to those who are embrace theonomy, in principle, but are hostile to how it needs to be applied. But that decision was made for me and there is plenty of satisfaction in this season, instead.
We might like to think the harvest is white, but the workers are few. I don’t know how a Reformation will return. You could scatter out all the men of RCC into other churches to appeal for crown rights that way. But then you wouldn’t have RCC, as a institutional community bearing light for a testimony. Perhaps if you men would be willing to return to the faithful witness of the applications of Christ’s law to the world right now, persecution would scatter you out anyway.
Looking back, during most of these seven years, I really cannot imagine a wiser or more gracious plan, for my part of trying to advance the embracing of the Crown Rights of the Ascended Messiah, than making it possible for me to fellowship with other churches on Sundays. Since every known church in the metropolitan area is less theonomic and postmillennial than RCC (at least in creed), it is a target-rich environment. I don’t think Pastor Tuuri could have done anything better to stimulate my learning, than the rejection of his earlier teaching. When your eternal salvation is at stake, it is an incentive to double-down and be diligent to be sure you know what the Word of God teaches, taking in all the lessons of history, church tradition, and experience as a cross-check on one’s own convictions.
Neither could I imagine a more helpful learning environment than the years of Sunday School classes at SW Hills Baptist with the attorney, Herb Grey, and Doug Lundin (historian and educator). Herb had no idea that the Bible applied to law when he was doing his classroom work to be a lawyer. But he was pretty excited to find out that there ain’t no such thing as “secular”, that the good and evil discernment in law, can only come from religious definitions. He is also real gracious in trying to help his Baptist brethren see it also. They tackled history of the Constitution and early America, Christian Worldview, economics, education, sex-ed in schools, end of life issues (euthanasia, abortion), and many others. I have remained hungry to hear the RCC Pulpit address these things for the last 6-10 years. This is not to say that I have been successful or even a factor in these Baptists changing their minds or officially embracing theonomy with its contemporary champions (Rushdoony, Bahnsen, McDurmon, et. al.). But even if I was a hindrance, the experience has served to sharpen my understanding of how God’s law must be applied, and hopefully how better to explain it and guide Biblical truth around the attempts of the skeptical heart to suppress it.
But it has not been just the Sunday fellowship experiences that have deepened my education. I have also found tremendous resources on line and can recommend these to any who desire a more helpful understanding of the applications of God’s word to our contemporary battle hot-points.
Matt Trewhella, pastor of Mercy Seat Christian Church, Milwaukie WI
He has done a take-off on the old Magdeburg Confession from the German Reformation and couldn’t help but write a book on the Doctrine of the Lesser Magistrates, highlighting the responsibility of everyone in civil government to side with the Law of God against any superior who would punish the innocent and reward the criminal.
I recommend his address in the Montana State House 1/4/15 that covers these concepts. (Mp3 or YouTube)
http://www.projectlibertytree.com/media/2015_ES.mp3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_FVrYy3iwE
I think any theonomist would rejoice at this proclamation of application to the ACA (Obamacare), capital sex crimes, and feticide.
Another resource that really clarifies that other, neglected half of the Gospel, and the political connection is Stephen Perks. Fully recommend you listen through his series:
Lectures of the Politics of God and the Politics of Man
1-9 so far
TheKuyperFoundation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J37qUi_5abM
Christianity and Law Free Stephen Perks Audio Book (Sample)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Lpzw8nL4xc
Such as it is, I could offer what I could manage to date; trying to explain what I think the Biblical position would be on certain hot topics. I hope these essays would be considered – not as me setting myself up as sovereign authority of interpretation – but as my best *studied* view trying to point to what the Bible means, available to anyone else to interpret, and hoping that others would be gracious to correspond with me and others to affirm or correct, that the whole Church might be edified and grow in unity to full historical maturity. Lead, follow, or at least don’t dog the heels of others who are trying to reform….
On sources showing how the doctrines of Luciferian Freemasonry regarding civil law/religious freedom/American Civil Religion/Pluralism/Democracy have been adopted by most Christian Churches.
http://www.keepandshare.com/discuss/22558/natural-law-the-wolf-in-sheep-s-clothing
http://www.keepandshare.com/discuss/42767/should-we-still-want-religious-freedom
On trying to answer the mainstream objection: Mosaic Legislation was just for Israel, but not for believer or unbeliever after Pentecost.
http://www.keepandshare.com/discuss/27246/what-makes-punishment-for-a-crime-right
Discussion points on why anyone should care about crime getting punished> appeal for Reformation Day discussions.
http://www.keepandshare.com/discuss/26424/reformation-day-2013-theses-on-the-door
http://www.keepandshare.com/discuss/21742/law-enforcement-crisis
On criminality of sex-related crimes and what must be done about them
http://www.keepandshare.com/discuss/27094/on-sex-crimes-abortion-sodomy-capital-punishment-human-trafficking
On capital punishment and why it is the gracious application of God’s law providing the best-possible solution to society’s current destruction by the proud exaltation of capital crime.
http://www.keepandshare.com/discuss/20648/how-to-stop-feticide-before-next-january
http://www.keepandshare.com/discuss/42074/obamanation-the-case-for-impeachment-and-execution
Reflections on Oregon Right-to-Life 2015 Conference – how they stiff-arm discussion on the one element that really would solve the feticide problem, and have no idea what the punishment should be for the worst possible way of the crime of striking at the image of God in humans.
http://www.keepandshare.com/discuss/20648/how-to-stop-feticide-before-next-january
Underneath all the Government/law issues is the international banker control over governments, media, military, police, and education. The Church has the power to turn off their power source by faithful proclamation of the truth about Messiah.
We must reject the idolatry of thinking bankers can create something out of nothing, or that they own all the money in the world, and thus have the right to adjust its purchasing power by manipulating quantities.
http://www.keepandshare.com/discuss/21920/how-to-restore-honest-money
